Sehwag's ton in vain as Delhi lose

Pragya Tiwari, Ghaziabad, Nov 5, 2012, DHNS:

As time ticked away, defeat for the fancied Delhi became imminent. Uttar Pradesh bowlers scythed through Delhi middle-order and would have clinched their six-wicket victory much earlier had it not been for one man—Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag (107, 165 balls 19x4), captain of a star-studded side, stroked a gritty hundred waging a lone battle, but couldn’t save his team from an embarrassing defeat in the opening Ranji Trophy clash of the season on Monday.

Chasing 155 in 50 overs, Uttar Pradesh, who had never won at the Jawaharlal Nehru Cricket Stadium here, made heavy weather of the task before accomplishing it during the mandatory overs in fading light. The win fetched UP six points. After bowling out Delhi for 322 shortly after lunch, the hosts had nearly two sessions to seal the victory. The first innings centurion Mukul Dagar and Tanmay Srivastava gave their side a solid start, adding 54 before Suresh Raina (37) and Parvinder Singh took over. score board